Campus readies for Quest 2017 summer sessions

Red shirts paved the way to the faculty and staff Quest briefing session on June 1, signaling that new Highlanders will be making their way to campus.

New Students Programs hosted the briefing session, which included the introduction of the Student Directors, Quest Assistants (QAs), Advance Team (A-Team) and Parent Orientation Guides (POGs).

“I want to thank you for the effort you are going to put in this summer to welcome our new students as you kick them off on their path toward Radford University,” said Kitty McCarthy, vice-president for Enrollment Management. “Thank you for your ongoing support.”

Mackenzie Meade’s experiences at Radford University and Quest led her to continuing her involvement with the program, this year as a Student Director.

“I returned this summer because I loved it so much,” Meade said. “We’re so excited to work with the new QAs. They’ve been hard at work and we’re really excited for them.”

Kylie Knudsen, another former QA turned Student Director, was “excited to return and keep working with Quest.” She has been involved with getting the current QAs up-to-speed.

The QAs arrived on Radford’s campus nearly two weeks ago to prepare for the new students’ arrival. In that time, they rehearsed the annual Quest play, practiced ice-breakers and took part in a two-day retreat at Selu Conservancy.

“They knew each other for maybe four hours until they were sent out to Selu Conservancy for two days,” Knudsen said. “Since then, their days have consisted of nothing but play practices and learning from presenters from various offices. We’d like to thank anyone who has taken or will take time out of their summer to provide vital information for the QAs.”

During the new students’ time on campus, Quest has four main goals for all participants:

• Reaffirm their commitment to Radford.
• Confirm their major and make sure that students know the requirements for their major. Set up a successful course schedule.
• Make a connection to incoming students and a connection to student leaders, as well as to the facilities.
• Help incoming students handle as much campus business as possible while at Radford.

“Quest is a great opportunity for us to showcase how outstanding Radford University is and what a great place it is,” said Joel Hanlon, associate director of New Student Programs. “We utilize our current student staff in that role and we work with a lot of things to get them the authentic Radford University experience. That’s what we want them to tell the new students and that’s what we want them to know.”

The first of four Transfer Quest offerings begin on June 8. Quest begins on June 12 and Quest Express begins on June 19.